The creator of the successful series **The White Lotus**, Mike White, called on the government of Thailand to **put an end to the exploitation and mistreatment of monkeys in the coconut industry**. Through a letter addressed to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, White expressed his concern about the **cruel treatment of these animals**, based on information provided by the animal rights organization **PETA**.
While filming the third season of the series on the Thai island of Ko Samui, White discovered that pig-tailed macaque babies, an endangered species, **were separated from their mothers and subjected to inhumane conditions**. But it wasn’t just that, as he learned that these animals spent years chained up, **forced to harvest coconuts in extremely confined conditions**, causing them high levels of distress and suffering.
Images obtained by PETA show **chained monkeys with short ropes in areas without adequate shelter**, exposed to adverse weather conditions and deprived of any form of enrichment or social interaction. Some of these animals have skin wounds due to constant contact with metal cages, while others show signs of distress by moving compulsively in **confined spaces**.
White described the situation as extreme abuse: “These baby monkeys are separated from their mothers, deprived of everything natural to them, and ‘broken’ to become coconut-picking machines for the rest of their lives. The images obtained in these ‘training schools’ show traumatized, terrified, and completely defenseless infants.”
## Harvesting Schools: A Deception for Tourists
In addition to subjecting them to forced labor, **alleged trainers use these “schools” as tourist attractions**. The official website of the Thai government promotes these places as demonstration centers, where unsuspecting visitors can see monkeys performing tasks they actually learned under conditions of extreme abuse.
Elisa Allen, Vice President of PETA UK, urged the Thai government to close these establishments: “These training schools are true pits of despair. **Monkeys are torn from their mothers, chained, and exploited until they lose their minds**.” PETA urged consumers to reject coconut products from Thailand and choose those from countries where animal labor is not used, such as India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
The impact of this denunciation has generated growing outrage among environmental groups and the vegan community, who **demand that the Thai authorities implement more humane harvesting methods**, where there is no room for monkey abuse. As calls for justice grow, the coconut industry and tourism in Thailand are under scrutiny, with urgent appeals to ensure the protection of these vulnerable animals.
## Years of Mistreatment
Years ago, the coconut milk manufacturing industry claimed that monkey labor was no longer used for this task. However, after several investigations, it was discovered that this was a lie, as **macaque monkeys were still being captured and mistreated to harvest coconuts**.
But the most worrying aspect was how they were kept, as in addition to chaining them up, **they had their teeth pulled out** to prevent them from harming their trainers when trying to defend themselves, not to mention the beatings these animals received during their training.
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